|
Prayer: What Is It?
of C. S. Lewis. PRAYER: WHAT IS IT? Prayer is either a sheer illusion or a personal contact between embryonic, incomplete persons (ourselves) and the utterly concrete Person. Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary, the presence and vision and enjoyment of God its bread and wine. —C. S. Lewis, from THE WORLD’S LAST NIGHT (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1960), page 8. ISBN 0156027712 [If Lewis is right in saying that the threshold to prayer is confession and penitence, no wonder that we are sometimes so reluctant to enter. Take another look at Psalm 32 and Luke 18:9-14.] Have a great week. Pray without ceasing. Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu |